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Acer is a little late when it comes to releasing its first handheld gaming PC. But now at CES 2025, it seems like the company is trying to make up for lost time by going big. Really big. Thats because later this year, its planning to release a gigantic offering in the Nitro Blaze 11. Packing detachable controllers and a built-in kickstand, the Blaze 11 shares a number of similarities with Lenovos Legion Go. However, when all that is attached to an 11-inch 2,560 x 1,600 IPS display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 500 nits of brightness, the result is something that feels very different. In some ways, its almost like holding a steering wheel with a tablet-sized screen slammed in the middle along with your typical assortment of joysticks, face buttons and shoulder triggers on either side. As youd expect from a device in this category, Acer has included some familiar gamer touches like RGB lighting surrounding analog sticks along with a new Acer Game Space app thats meant to serve as a one-stop game launcher and control panel for settings. In person, the Blaze 11s screen is bright and vivid to the point that I had to confirm that it wasnt OLED. You also get whats becoming a fairly standard set of ports: two USB-C, a 3.5mm audio jack and a microSD card slot. That said, I do appreciate that Acer found room for a USB-A port, which brings the total number of USB connections to three. Meanwhile, on the inside, the Blaze 11s specs look good, though not especially impressive, with an AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS chip and Radeon 780M graphics, 16GB of RAM (7500 MT/s) and up to 2TB of SSD storage (though Acer says initial configurations will come with 512GB). That said, if an 11-inch gaming tablet seems a bit too unwieldy, Acer does have a second option in the Nitro Blaze 8. It features nearly identical specs and a very similar design minus the detachable controllers and kickstand, but with a smaller 8-inch IPS screen that has a slightly faster 144Hz refresh rate. Both models felt solid, though the Blaze 8 does win out in overall rigidity thanks to its non-detachable controllers. In case thats not enough, theres actually a third handheld that will be joining Acers ranks in the Nitro Blaze 7, which was announced back in September but has yet to go on sale (at least in the US). Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget My one concern with the Blaze 11 is that while it seems totally serviceable, Im not quite sure its gigantic dimensions alone will be enough to carve out a significant niche among rivals from ASUS, Lenovo, Valve and others, as it lacks much in the way of additional defining characteristics. That said, I did notice that the bottom of the Blaze 11 features pogo pins that suggests some peripherals (most likely a dock) will arrive at a later date. However, when I asked an Acer representative for confirmation, they said they had no official announcements regarding additional peripherals or accessories for the Blaze family at this time. Acer says all three handhelds will go on sale sometime in Q2 2025, with the Nitro Blaze 11 starting at $1,100, the Blaze 8 at $900 and somewhere around $800 for the Blaze 7.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/the-acer-nitro-blaze-11-is-an-absolutely-massive-handheld-gaming-pc-194505881.html?src=rss
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While all eyes are on NVIDIA for its RTX 5000 GPUs at CES 2025, AMD is also taking the opportunity to give us a glimpse at its upcoming RDNA 4 graphics architecture. While specifics are scarce, the company says its new GPUs will be built on a 4nm process with "optimized" compute units, "supercharged" AI computation and better ray tracing per compute unit. The big reveal, though, is that its new FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 (FSR4) will be powered by machine learning, just like NVIDIA's DLSS technology. AMD claims FSR 4 will offer "high quality" 4K upscaling, frame generation and low latency support with AMD Anti-Lag 2. AMD No surprises there, really, but it's nice to see AMD finally move beyond the more simplistic upscaling from previous versions of FSR. The company also briefly revealed the existence of its new Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT GPUS, as well as its new naming scheme which directly mirrors NVIDIA's. Now instead of trying to decode how AMD's video cards compete with NVIDIAs, you'll be able to directly compare the 9070 GPUs to NVIDIA's upcoming RTX 5070 lineup. Less compelling, but somewhat notable, AMD is also adding a few generative AI features into its Adrenalin software. You'll be able to create AI images, summarize documents and ask "AMD-related" questions. Just what everyone has been waiting for!This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/amd-previews-rdna-4-graphics-with-ai-upscaling-teases-rx-9070-gpus-194500173.html?src=rss
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Hisense just introduced its first consumer microLED television at CES 2025 in Las Vegas. The 136MX includes a high-density array of over 24.88 microscopic LEDs to deliver unparalleled brightness, resolution, and precision. As with all microLED displays, each pixel is its own light source. This allows for a near-infinite dynamic contrast ratio, with fantastic brightness and deep blacks. It's also a big ole beast, at 136 inches. The TV is powered by the companys proprietary Hi-View AI Engine X chipset, which uses AI algorithms for frame optimization. This should allow for ultra-precise color conversion and improved clarity even in well-lit spaces. To that end, the brightness levels here reach up to 10,000 nits, with a 95 percent color gamut. It supports Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+ and something called Filmmaker Mode that optimizes picture quality to match both the content and environment, ensuring a cinematic experience in any setting. As for audio, the 136MX supports Dolby Atmos and DTS Virtual X. These sets run the companys VIDAA operating system, so theres access to all of the major streaming platforms right out of the box. It also pairs with Alexa and Google Assistant for voice controls. For gamers, the 136MX includes features like 120Hz VRR, an auto low latency mode and FreeSync Premium Pro. We dont have pricing or availability for this yet, but well keep you posted. Hisense also announced a gigantic 116-inch TriChroma LED TV at this years CES event. The lack of pricing here is something of a bummer, as microLED displays are typically extremely expensive. It would be nice if Hisense got the price down for regular consumers, but this is unlikely given the TV's massive size. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/hisense-introduces-its-first-ever-consumer-microled-tv-194057452.html?src=rss
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